Directing communications using gaze interaction

Abstract

A computer-implemented method can include: establishing a communication session between a device of a first user and devices of at least two remote users, the communication session including at least audio communication between the first user and the at least two remote users; determining, for each of the at least two remote users, a spatial position assigned to the remote user relative to a display viewable by the first user; detecting, by the device of the first user, audio from the first user; determining a gaze direction of the first user; evaluating the gaze direction of the first user with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users; and based on evaluating the gaze direction with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the remote users, transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users during the communication session.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method performed by one or more electronic devices, the method comprising:
 establishing a communication session between a device of a first user and devices of at least two remote users, the communication session including at least audio communication between the first user and the at least two remote users; 
 determining, for each of the at least two remote users, a spatial position assigned to the remote user relative to a display viewable by the first user; 
 detecting, by the device of the first user, audio from the first user; 
 determining a gaze direction of the first user; 
 evaluating the gaze direction of the first user with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users; and 
 based on evaluating the gaze direction with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the remote users, transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users during the communication session. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting different audio to each of the at least two remote users comprises selectively transmitting the detected audio from the first user to the devices of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users comprises transmitting the audio from the first user such that the devices of the at least two users receive the audio from the first user at different volume levels. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting different audio to each of the at least two remote users comprises:
 transmitting the detected audio from the first user to the device of one of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation; and 
 not transmitting the detected audio to devices of the other users of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining a gaze direction of the first user comprises determining an eye position and a head position of the first user relative to the display. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, on the display viewable by the first user, a user interface element for each of the at least two remote users, the locations of the user interface elements for the at least two remote users corresponding to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein evaluating the gaze direction of the first user with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users comprises determining that the gaze of the first user is directed toward a portion of the display that includes the user interface element for a particular remote user of the at least two remote users. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , comprising determining, for a particular remote user of the at least two remote users, a scaling factor based on a distance between the gaze direction and the user interface element for the particular remote user; and
 wherein transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users comprises transmitting, to the device of the particular remote user, detected audio from the first user having a volume scaled according to the scaling factor. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 6 , comprising:
 determining that the gaze of the first user is directed away from a particular user element for a particular remote user of the at least two remote users; and 
 based on determining that the gaze of the first user is directed away from the user element for a particular remote user of the at least two remote users, restricting transmission of audio from the first user such that audio detected from the first user while the first user is looking away from the particular user element is not transmitted to the particular remote user. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the user interface element for a particular remote user of the at least two remote users is a video stream of the particular remote user. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication session between the first user and the at least two remote users is a video conference. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the spatial position assigned to the remote user is adjustable by the first user. 
     
     
       13. A system comprising:
 one or more electronic devices; and 
 one or more non-transitory machine-readable media coupled to the one or more electronic devices, the one or more non-transitory machine-readable media having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by the one or more electronic devices, cause the one or more electronic devices to perform operations comprising:
 establishing a communication session between a device of a first user and devices of at least two remote users, the communication session including at least audio communication between the first user and the at least two remote users; 
 determining, for each of the at least two remote users, a spatial position assigned to the remote user relative to a display viewable by the first user; 
 detecting, by the device of the first user, audio from the first user; 
 determining a gaze direction of the first user; 
 evaluating the gaze direction of the first user with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users; and 
 based on evaluating the gaze direction with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the remote users, transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users during the communication session. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein transmitting different audio to each of the at least two remote users comprises selectively transmitting the detected audio from the first user to the devices of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 13 , wherein transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users comprises transmitting the audio from the first user such that the devices of the at least two users receive the audio from the first user at different volume levels. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 13 , wherein transmitting different audio to each of the at least two remote users comprises:
 transmitting the detected audio from the first user to the device of one of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation; and 
 not transmitting the detected audio to devices of the other users of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation. 
 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 13 , further comprising displaying, on the display viewable by the first user, a user interface element for each of the at least two remote users, the locations of the user interface elements for the at least two remote users corresponding to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users. 
     
     
       18. One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of one or more electronic devices, cause the one or more electronic devices to perform operations comprising:
 establishing a communication session between a device of a first user and devices of at least two remote users, the communication session including at least audio communication between the first user and the at least two remote users; 
 determining, for each of the at least two remote users, a spatial position assigned to the remote user relative to a display viewable by the first user; 
 detecting, by the device of the first user, audio from the first user; 
 determining a gaze direction of the first user; 
 evaluating the gaze direction of the first user with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the at least two remote users; and 
 based on evaluating the gaze direction with respect to the spatial positions assigned to the remote users, transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users during the communication session. 
 
     
     
       19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage devices of  claim 18 , wherein transmitting different audio to each of the at least two remote users comprises selectively transmitting the detected audio from the first user to the devices of the at least two remote users based on the evaluation. 
     
     
       20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage devices of  claim 18 , wherein transmitting different audio to the devices of the at least two remote users comprises transmitting the audio from the first user such that the devices of the at least two users receive the audio from the first user at different volume levels.